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I’m not a clothes guy. Given the choice, I would buy everything from the Army Navy Store. Actually, that’s what I did until the need to procreate forced me to consider otherwise. But really, rip-stop pants with ample pockets and black ribbed sweaters with reinforced elbows are classic, versatile and mission-ready. So what if most of my missions end with “save as…” rather than necklaces made of enemy ears.

Let’s just say I’m not on the pitch list for many clothing brands. And let’s just say when they do send me stuff, I sit on it for years. Yes, plural. So the first part of this post is pure blogger guilt relief. Ralph Lauren and Gold Toe sent me stuff back in 2011. Actually, they sent stuff for Fury. And like a proper blogger’s kid, he wore his cool Ralph Lauren shirt and Gold Toe socks to the first day of school without me asking.

When I snapped this picture, I was actually wearing the Gold Toe socks they sent me as well. But Fury got the cool socks that are labeled L and R because they’re built for the contour of each foot. What? Is that even necessary? He insisted they were the best socks he’d ever worn. So there you have it. Gold Toe makes the best socks (as an SEO guy, I have to say I just gave them killer anchor text– well worth the wait).

Then last March, we moved from SoCal to NorCal, so there was actually another “first day of school.” Without missing a beat, Fury wore his Ralph Lauren shirt again.

With that out of the way, I would like to get into the whole reason I’m writing this post: Carhartt sent me their Quick Duck Woodward jacket, and this post is a review of it. However, by doing this I’m keeping it real. You can buy Carhartt at an Army Navy store. In fact, I‘ve owned the iconic Carhartt Sandstone jacket for several years. Except I call it my Toby Keith jacket. Sometimes if I’m feeling more classic, I call it my George Strait jacket.

I’m an Asian guy who likes country music. Kindly lead the elephant out of the room now, so I can get on with this post.

Another reason I agreed to this review is because I was cold. It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, San Francisco is always chilly. I started my new job in May, and so far there have only been three days I could walk outside without a jacket. The one I’ve been wearing since my first day is a thin Banana Republic sweater jacket (which in my professional years has become my Army Navy store for office attire).

I call my daily trip to work the “Commuter Triathlon” because there are three parts to it, and PowerBar could get some mileage sponsoring that BS. It starts out with a 45-minute drive to the train station. Then I park the car at the BART station and ride an hour into the city. Then, I unfold this bad boy:

Then I scoot the mile from the BART station to my office. Field mice gestate in less time than it takes me to get to the office.

But let me tell you something. Wearing this jacket makes my commute feel more like a conquest than a schlep. Because it is. Simply. Bad. Ass.

First, the Carhartt brand is synonymous with killing your own food, barehanded. I’ll get to that one day, I swear. No one messes with you when you are wearing Carhartt – even if you’re on a kick scooter. And that’s a bold statement, because ‘wheee!’

Next, this jacket is windproof, water resistant and WARM. Scooting through the mean streets of San Francisco feels like a warm cup of hot chocolate. In fact, I put this jacket through the ultimate test a few weeks ago when I lost my car keys. With my trusty scooter and battle-ready jacket, I rode all over town trying to find a car rental place and/or dealership. When that failed, I had to take a bus that dropped me off a few miles from home. By this time it was 10pm or so, which meant I had been outdoors scooting aimlessly for 7 hours. My face and hands were frozen, but my consistent core body temperature ensured my survival.

This what inability to move one’s face or fingers looks like.

So yes, this jacket saved my life in a #FirstWorldProblems sort of way. Speaking of which, this jacket also has an extra long “drop tail” which means no more embarrassing “unplugging your mac from the power strip” crack at work. It also has 6 pockets, and I’m not talking about costume pockets, either. I’ve transported water bottles, electronics, sandwiches, alcohol and other items in them. The other day, I even carried a lightbulb in one of the pockets. My favorite thing about this jacket is that even though it’s built to be rugged, it actually looks presentable in an urban professional setting. This is the jacket I wear to work. Colleagues and clients see me in it. It can hang with corporate America. Because when your jacket simply defaults to the popped collar look, you’re probably a big deal.

Hey guess what? YOU are also big deal, which is why Carhartt is giving one of you this jacket. Just leave me a comment explaining why you want yourself or your man in this jacket and you’ll be entered in my drawing. I will randomly choose a winner on Sunday, January 27 at 9pm PST. By the way, I wasn’t paid for this review. They sent me the jacket to use and abuse. I’ve so far managed only to spill coffee on it. Damn triple stitched seams.

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